We operate in a service industry. This means that the motivation and wellbeing of our staff are critical to our operations. Employees and the way they work make all the difference. We are pleased to report that an increased number of business units meet the international standards of Investors in People (IiP) and the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS 18001).

This section deals with our social performance. We recognise that our people are the most important sustainable competitive advantage we have. We aim therefore to cultivate mutually-beneficial relationships with each of them.

Health and Safety

OHSAS 18001 certification
We strive to ensure that our employees can do their job in a healthy and safe working environment. We achieve this through our management approach of certifying our entities according to the OHSAS 18001 standard.

Health and safety is a major focus area within Mail and Express and we are pleased to report that we are ahead of our certification target. In Express, 36 reporting units achieved the OHSAS standard in 2006, namely: Air Network Maintenance & Engineering, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Fiji, France, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Liège Air Hub, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, TNT Information & Communication Services, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States of America and Vietnam. Within Mail, the entire Mail Netherlands business line with over 30,000 FTEs was OHSAS 18001 certified in 2006.

Road safety

Road safety is a crucial part of the health and safety management system that sets the minimum standards for all TNT countries worldwide. Within Mail Netherlands, we use on-board computers to monitor the driving behaviour of our employees. All scores, positive and negative, are discussed on a team level and on the individual level by the drivers’ managers. The managers coach employees to improve their driving behaviour.

In 2006, TNT Express implemented an improved road safety management system. This focuses on behaviour-based driver training for all drivers, ensures risk assessments are conducted annually, that risk controls are effective, that accidents are investigated and that mitigating actions are taken to create more sustainable road safety practices. Communications also featured strongly with the implementation of a road safety campaign.

These programmes were cascaded to subcontractors wherever possible.

Workplace safety

TNT has committed itself to the OHSAS 18001 health and safety management system (OHSAS 18001) that sets the minimum standards for all TNT countries worldwide. In the certified parts of our organisation, this management system is reviewed each year and updated where necessary. The health and safety management system ensures that risk assessments are conducted annually, that risk controls are effective, that workplace inspections and internal audits are conducted, that competence is enhanced through training and coaching and that all accidents are investigated and root causes identified. In 2006, TNT Express’ Managing Safety programme was accredited externally by the Institution of Occupational Health and Safety (IOHS).

Investors in People certification

Investors in People ensures our people receive the attention they deserve, both on a group level through team discussions and through individual coaching. Where necessary, staff may attend supplementary training, allowing them to expand their professional horizons. Each year, progress discussions are held with all employees in which the focus is on their performance, behaviour and personal development.

Certification is on target. The decline within Mail is due to the significant decrease in the number of employees within the certified part of Mail (Mail Netherlands). Other growing Mail business lines are not certified to date. In Express, all units are Investors in People certified, with the exception of Innight, which will be covered in 2007.

Employee engagement

In January 2006, the existing employee motivation/engagement surveys were upgraded to a TNT company-wide standardised global engagement survey. The survey investigates the most important drivers for individual and business unit engagement. The drivers it covers are:

• TNT energises me to go the extra mile.
• I’m willing to work beyond what is required in my job in order to help TNT succeed.
• I am proud to be part of TNT.
• I would recommend TNT as a good place to work.
• I fully support TNT’s standards.
• I believe strongly in the goals and objectives of TNT.
• I do not intend to leave TNT.      

We sent an extended survey translated into 36 languages to our staff, which was returned with a response rate of 69%, or 86,000 people.

The global engagement survey shows that local circumstances play a major role in how employees perceive TNT as an employer. The good news is that TNT engagement scores are in most categories higher than the industry benchmark. Nevertheless, on a generic operational level, special attention was raised for work circumstances, opportunities for personal development and leadership/communication. As a whole, TNT scored well on 'Image and corporate sustainability' and 'Customer Focus'.

When we compare TNT’s engagement scores against world class standard, we still have room for further improvement.

The TNT Board of Management considers the engagement survey an important tool for assessing whether we are moving forward in instilling pride in all our people and has therefore included this measurement in the mission-related pay scorecards of senior management. We are addressing all areas of the 2006 employee engagement scores.

Diversity and opportunity

We strive to create equal opportunities for all our employees, without discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, religion, marital status or age.

Training

We employ competent, capable and enthusiastic people. We provide our employees with the necessary resources, training and recognition to maximise their own potential and individual contribution to the business. We also want employees to appreciate how they contribute to us being a good corporate citizen and environmentally-responsible operator. We therefore provide specialist training to comply with standards such as Investors in People, ISO and EFQM, and specific training on integrity, social responsibility, our Business Principles and corporate governance. We have extensive management develop-ment programmes both internally and externally with partners such as Erasmus University Rotterdam and Warwick University in the United Kingdom.

Social inclusion

We offer employment opportunities to potential employees who have a medically-recognised physical or mental handicap or disability. Where possible, we accommodate any special needs they may have, including adapting the workplace.

Corporate citizenship

In December 2002, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and TNT launched a groundbreaking partnership aimed at a single common goal: fighting world hunger. The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian aid agency. In 2006, WFP reached 97 million people in 82 countries, including most of the world’s refugees and internally-displaced people. As the United Nations’ logistics arm for humanitarian aid, it coordinates with other United Nations agencies, governments and non-governmental organi-sations to deliver food to the right place, at the right time.

Both parties benefit from the partnership. On a company level, an internal survey released in 2006 indicated that 47% of TNT employees had participated in the partnership in one form or another and that 41% stated that the partnership had increased their pride in the company. On an individual level, TNT specialists and volunteers are able to improve their skills and increase their knowledge through their work with WFP.

WFP benefits through our ongoing commitment to sharing our resources and know-how with them. In 2006 alone, we committed €9.0 million. This included knowledge transfer projects (€2.1 million), support to emergencies (€2.2 million), and awareness & fundraising projects (€2.1 million). These efforts involved TNT employees in more than 90 countries. In addition, the result of the twinning model with WFP, which consists of the employee fundraising results and corporate matching, was €2.5 million. Since the start of the partnership, TNT has contributed a total of €32.3 million to WFP operations and TNT employees have raised €7.4 million for the WFP School Feeding Programme.

Our logistics business, renamed CEVA Logistics after the sale, intends to continue the partnership with WFP.

You will find a complete overview of the partnership and its activities at http://group.tnt.com/wfp